


Scars That Were Meant To Bleed

by NyxieSilverfire



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Add's friends love him, F/M, I just tagged the others because I ship them, I'm very sorry Add, It's angst, Lots of Angst, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Self-Hatred, Slavery, Trauma, also a random little girl dies, and you'll have to pry these Elfamily headcanons from my cold dead hands, but there's a lot of angst, i'm definitely going to hell, it's mostly just Add/Eve, mentions and small flashbacks of Add's time as a slave when he was a kid, self-desctive thoughts, so they might sneak into the story, the title is paraphrased from a line of a hollywood undead song, there's comfort too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 04:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15788679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxieSilverfire/pseuds/NyxieSilverfire
Summary: The Elgang are exploring an empty dungeon because they'd heard that it could be connected to Henir's Order, and there were reports of no one returning when sent to investigate it. Eve and Add go ahead to scout out an area because the gang was taking too long to catch up because they were messing around since there were so few enemies. AKA no enemies in sight. And Eve finds herself in a situation she doesn't know how to handle and goes back to her friends for assistance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Elsword fic. I honestly don't usually write for most of my fandoms unless I feel particularly inspired. I decided to combine(?) the character's paths into a single general version of them for this story. But, I went to bed last night having just read a whole bunch of angsty Add fics, which was a HUGE MISTAKE. And then, because I have no self control, I started to think about how slaves are often times in chains and then my brain was like “What if Add has a problem with chains? He was a slave as a CHILD after all.” I just rode that trainwreck all the way down and…well, here we are. Also, the chapters are short. Because I have no self control and like to change points of view.  
> Anyway, enough of me trying to explain what happens in my brain. Enjoy my garbage. But I am definitely going to hell just for this.

“Eve! There you are!” Elsword smiled at her. But his smile quickly faded when he noticed that Eve looked worried. He assumed that she worried about them, but she rarely ever looked like she was worried.

“What's wrong, Eve?” Elesis asked.

Eve hesitated, attempting to find the right words. Eventually she said, “It appears as though Add has…” she trailed off, searching for a word again. Finally she finished with, “Broken.”

“Broken?” Elsword repeated. His brow furrowed in confusion, “Like his bones?”

Eve shook her head, “No. He's not injured as far as I know.”

Rena nodded, “Okay. Let's start from the beginning, then. What happened?”

“I'm not entirely sure how, since I was walking ahead of him, but Add got caught in some kind of trap,” Eve explained, “His right side wasn't caught but his left side was. Once he was caught he… ceased functioning. I attempted to get his attention but he didn't hear me. Or at the very least did not respond. Even when I had Oberon cut him free, he remained oddly unresponsive. Despite being completely conscious still and appearing unharmed. He also flinched when I tried to touch him, which is odd behavior for Add. While he's never seemed to like being touched, I've yet to see him flinch before now. I was unsure of what to do, so I left Oberon and Ophelia with him and decided to backtrack to you all.”

“That does sound really weird for Add,” Ara commented.

Raven's eyes narrowed, “Not injured but unresponsive?” He looked down and muttered, to himself, “I hope I'm wrong.”

“Lead the way,” Elsword told Eve.

Eve nodded and led them back down the tunnel she had come down.

So far the cave system was completely empty. They'd agreed to investigate it because apparently it was connected to Henir's Order. There were also reports of anyone that was sent to investigate it before them not returning. But so far there was nothing but old traps. Some of them didn't even work properly. And so far the only one to be caught was Add.

Chung cocked his head to the side, “How was Add caught so easily when the traps around here are so simple?”

Eve nodded, “I would've expected as much from Elsword, but not him. He's usually aware of his surroundings.”

“Was he bragging?” Elesis asked with an annoyed sigh, “We all know how he stops paying attention once he's decided he has to let everybody know just how smart he is. And how hard of a time we would have without him.”

Eve closed her eyes and sighed. She nodded, “He was, yes.”

A low threatening growl stopped Eve in her tracks. It sounded like some sort of beast. But Moby and Remy had done multiple scans of the whole area before she'd left Add. So that she could be sure leaving him there wasn't going to be a danger to him. If she had known there were monsters hiding somewhere in the cave complex she would've sent Oberon or Ophelia to get the others and stayed with Add herself.

“Am I the only one that heard that growl?” Aisha asked.

Chung shook his head, “I heard it.”

Elsword nodded, “I did too.”

Eve's eyes narrowed slightly, “Moby. Remy. Scan the area for enemies.”

When Moby and Remy reported back, the cavern where she'd left Add was suddenly full of hostile creatures. They weren't the usual creatures that had come with their encounters with Henir's Order. Eve was shocked, “There weren't any enemies in the area when I left him.” She worried if Add, Oberon, and Ophelia were alright but quickly assured herself that they were fine.

Elesis picked up her pace to a full sprint, everyone else running behind her. When the group reached the entrance to the cavern, they found it full of enemies. Frightening bestial monsters with glowing green eyes set in black eye whites, and patchy fur prowled through the cavern. The beasts noticed them immediately and charged forward to attack.

Elsword and Elesis leaped forward to meet them as Elsword yelled, “We have to find Add!”

“We need to clear a path through to where Eve last left him,” Elesis added.


	2. Chapter 2

Add gritted his teeth. He could feel his body shaking. It took every ounce of control he had to force himself to move to try and get the shackles on his wrist and ankle off. The metal was cold. With every movement he made, he could hear the jingling of the chain links. He clenched his fists and shoved the memories threatening to overtake his conscious thoughts as deep as he could and continued trying. He felt completely ridiculous. It's just a heap of metal. A bunch of chains aren't actually going to hurt him.

Relief flowed through him as he managed to get the shackle off his wrist. He shook out his hand now that it was free and took a deep breath. His fists clenched tightly and he snarled, “Stop shaking. It's _just a bunch of metal_. It shouldn't be this hard to get rid of it.”

Movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned. He flinched as the shackle still on his ankle made an all too familiar noise.

Three wolf-like creatures with glowing green eyes and skeletal legs paced in front of him. One of them growled.

Add snarled back and laughed, even as the creatures leaped towards him. “Don't touch me!” Dynamo surrounded the three monsters. They stopped in confusion but that cost them. The resulting blast from Dynamo decimated them. It was much easier to focus on what was going on around him with one less shackle holding him.

Add laughed, “That's right! I'm stronger than I was back then!” He grinned and continued laughing.

“Stronger?”

Add stopped laughing and his eyes narrowed. He looked around but didn't see anything that could've spoken to him. Even when he turned around there wasn't anything there. He quickly checked off a list in his mind of things it could be and called Dynamo back to him.

It had sounded like a woman's voice but he wasn't certain. Suddenly the sound of footsteps was clearly audible, accompanied by the swishing of clothes and the incessant jangling of chains.

For a second Add found himself back in a cage. The memory of the guards walking up to it, with the chains that would hold him while he endured whatever punishment they'd cooked up this time, was as clear as if it had happened the day before.

Add grabbed his head. While he managed to pull himself out of the memory, he felt like a heavy weight pressed down on his chest. His eyes couldn't seem to focus on anything and he felt unsteady.

The enemy took advantage of that and slammed him into the wall hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs.

Add cried out in pain briefly before choking as their long clawed fingers gripped his neck. His eyes finally focused and he saw two human looking entities in front of him.

The one holding him to the wall was a very muscular man. The way he held Add implied he wasn't going to actually choke him and was likely putting pressure on his throat for the intimidation factor. His bright green eyes seemed to see directly into Add and the man sneered, “I'm surprised it was you the trap caught. I would've expected you to have enough wits about you to avoid it.”

The woman with the man had the same green eyes as her companion but they were more intense. It felt as though if he looked into them for even a moment, she'd know everything about him. She laughed coldly, “Especially since you seem so deeply afraid of the chains.” The chains jangled as she lifted them to swing a shackle in front of Add's face like a pendulum.

Add couldn't keep himself from flinching and immediately hated himself for it.

She grabbed his face roughly and forced him to look at her.

Add tried to bite her but she didn't even twitch.

She smiled, “You're still feisty.” Her eyes narrowed, “But aren't you supposed to be the smart one?”

Add refused to look her in the eyes, but he felt his heart drop. He was supposed to be the smart one. He was supposed to be the one that already had the enemy's moves figured out. That was able to outmaneuver an enemy because he's already figured out what they can do. Yet here he was, completely helpless, held against the wall by his throat. He had begun to get somewhat lightheaded, though he couldn't tell if it was because of the pressure on his throat, or the weight on his chest that made it hard to breathe. Logic dictated it was probably both, but logic wasn't quite a priority for him right now.

The man held his hand out towards the wall behind Add. The rocks crumbled as more chains broke through.

The woman smiled, “And after all the effort your little nasod friend went to to cut you free from the chains.” A knowing glint appeared in her eyes as she managed to catch Add's gaze, even though it was just for a moment, and she shook her head, “You're such an untrustworthy little boy, aren't you? And to think those sweet children that call you their friend have so much faith in you.” She let go of Add's face, shoving his head back into the wall, “You're going to be our final sacrifice to open the portal, so don't worry, little one. You won't have the chance to go your separate ways. Treasure those children while your life bleeds away.”

Add's head immediately throbbed with pain. The woman was a lot stronger than she looked. “I-I'm not a little boy. And I'm not…” It was suddenly very difficult for him to breathe and this time he was certain it was the weight on his chest. He pushed down the urge to whimper as the chains wrapped around both of his ankles and wrists, his torso, and his neck. The chains pulled him higher up the wall so his friends would have a much harder time reaching him. He forced himself to laugh and once he started, he didn't stop.


	3. Chapter 3

Elsword looked up from the monster he was fighting. He swore he just heard Add. And it sounded like he was in pain. “Add!” he called.

The others all looked up and started looking around as well. Chung, Ara, Elesis, and Rena echoed his call. They got no answer from Add.

Elsword looked around, but didn't see his white haired friend. He did see a man and a woman by the wall halfway across the cave from him though and his eyes narrowed. He watched as after many moments the two pulled away from the wall and walked away.

Eve's eyes narrowed, “Add seems to be chained to the wall. And he appears to be laughing.”

“He's laughing?” Elesis repeated incredulously.

Eve nodded, just as calm as ever, “From what I can tell, yes.” Her eyes narrowed, “He does not appear to be attempting to get free from the chains however, unlike when I left him before.” She looked down for a moment but quickly returned her attention to the creatures they needed to battle to reach him.

Suddenly the monsters disappeared entirely. The man and woman that had been at the wall before stood between them and Add, as their only obstacles. They looked human at first glance, but their unsettling green eyes, black eye whites, and long clawed, black stained fingers said otherwise.

The woman laughed, “Welcome to my playhouse, sweet children. We have no need for you anymore.” She pointed at Elsword, “And while that one was preferred he was not the one caught in our trap. And your white haired friend will be sufficient enough for our plans.”

Elsword's eyes widened, “What? Your plans?”

The woman's gaze swept over them with a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face, “Honestly, Honey, I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. If the white haired boy was supposed to be the smart one then I have little hope for the rest of you. Especially given how surprisingly stupid he was.”

“He is the smart one!” Lu insisted angrily, “You're going to pay for mocking a friend of Luciela R. Sourcream, Ruler of the Abyss!”

Ciel sighed, “Lu. Let's just fight them. We can save the gloating for later.”

The woman laughed, “Why would you bother being friends with such an untrustworthy and arrogant little boy?” She closed her eyes and sighed, “I suppose he really was the smart one. How sad.” She opened her eyes again before any of them could respond, “Aerisar. Be a dear and explain to these children the situation they are in.”

The man was much less mocking and much more threatening, “Your friend is going to be our final sacrifice. By drawing the life energy from many, many, many different specimens, not just your friend, we will be able to rip open a portal to Henir's Core and allow the chaos to come spewing forth and consume all of Elrios. If you try to interfere we will destroy you all.”

“Since we don't need any more sacrifices after him, you are all free to go. But don't cause any trouble for us on your way out.” the woman finished, her eyes narrowing. Her entire body language changed into something much more hostile and intimidating. Her long tail waved behind her, the stinger glinting almost like metal in the light they had and she grinned revealing sharp snakelike fangs.

Chung glared at them angrily, “Add may be prickly and difficult but he's our friend. He's come through for us on more than one occasion.” He positioned his cannon to fire and fired off three shots.

“And we're not gonna let you drain his life away for any reason! Let alone to destroy the world!” Elsword yelled. He charged forward, following Chung's cannon balls.

Ara twirled her spear and leaped forward to attack as well. She easily pulled ahead of Elsword.

Both enemies were unscathed by Chung's cannon. The man caught Elsword's sword and Ara's spear and threw them into the opposite wall with ease. The two of them slammed into it hard enough that they left craters.

Aisha's eyes widened, “That looked like it took no effort on his part. And they left craters in the wall.”

Elsword and Ara both got back up and returned to their friends' sides.

“We need to attack the two of them together,” Elesis stated confidently, “Unleash everything we have on them all at once.” She opened her mouth to continue but the woman interrupted her.

The woman's eyes were narrowed and she started to walk towards them. Her tail flicked back and forth with each step she took. “I thought I told you children not to cause us trouble on your way out,” her voice was harsh and cold and it cut into their minds like a steel knife. Power flowed off of her in waves. It seemed to pull the heat from their bodies and rip the air from their lungs.

Lu and Ain collapsed first, followed quickly by Ciel. All three of them held their heads in pain. Their blood boiled in their veins and their very existence seemed to start ripping itself to shreds. Even through the pain, Ciel was able to crawl over to Lu. But he wasn't able to do much else.

Elesis, Elsword, Ara, and Rena collapsed next. A sensation like thousand needles stabbing into their flesh repeatedly consumed their bodies. Ara was the first to start screaming in pain. But it didn't take long for the others to follow.

The woman looked at Eve, “Cursed Nasod!” She leaped towards Eve with impossible speed.

Eve didn't move, even as she watched the stinger on the woman's tail lash out towards her.

“Eve!” Aisha cried out in horror. She saw Eve get impaled on the stinger and thrown callously into the wall.

Eve did not get back up and had a gaping hole in the center of her body. Her arm bent awkwardly under her and her eyes slowly dulled.

The only three left were Chung, Aisha, and Raven.

Aisha stepped back nervously. She wasn't so sure the three of them could handle the woman on their own, let along both the woman and the man. In fact she was nearly certain it was a death wish to even try.


	4. Chapter 4

Eve felt nothing when the woman attacked her and in reality she didn't move. Her eyes narrowed, “An illusion. Powerful enough to allow for unreal physical sensations as well as seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting things that another has willed them to. Impressive.” She looked around. The others around her were visible only in black and white. The boundary of the illusion had drained them entirely of their color. She saw no sign of the woman or the man.

The only thing that was still in color was Add, chained on the wall. He had stopped laughing but hadn't moved. He appeared much paler than usual and Eve could see some blood, especially on his neck and wrists.

Eve looked at him for a long moment, then turned her attention to all of the others. She called Moby and Remy to her side, “I will take care of things for you all. Do not worry.” Oberon and Ophelia had been damaged in battle and she wasn't going to call them back in if she didn't have to. She walked past her companions who were caught in the illusion and deeper into the cave complex.

What she found was not at all what she expected. Deeper in it looked almost like a laboratory. Large glass tubes filled with glowing green liquid lined the walls of a very large cavern all the way to the ceiling. In the center there appeared to be a computer-like set up with three screens. Behind it stood a rectangular pod looking structure. At least twelve see through pipes, built into the floor, connected the center pod to the tubes of green liquid. Eve could not tell if the liquid was being transported from the tubes to the pod or the opposite way just by looking at it.

She walked up to the computer and looked at the center screen. She saw a three dimensional digital model for both the woman and the man on the screen. She also saw the illusion playing out on the left half of the screen and a percentage bar across the top. The percentage bar was at fifteen percent and slowly rising.

She looked at the screen to the right and saw vital signs that mimicked that of a human. While they were stable they were incredibly weak.

It was then that she looked into the pod and saw a young human girl. It looked as though she was sleeping, a little plush bear tucked at her side. Eve knew the girl was in some form of stasis and she was beginning to be able to hypothesize why.

Eve turned her attention to the third and final screen and found calculations and code. With the addition of Add's life force, the system would be flawless, keeping the girl barely alive for so many years it might as well be considered forever.

Eve also found a message from the girl's father. From it she learned that he had designed this to keep his very sick and ailing daughter from dying until someone could cure her. And he had designed the man and woman that were tormenting her friends to protect the girl, and gather the life force needed to complete the system. He was long since dead but his message pleaded to the person who found the system to save his daughter.

Eve looked again at the girl's vital signs and pressed her lips together. They were so weak that she would die within moments of awakening from her stasis. There was no way to save the girl when she was this close to death. There was only this partial life where the girl slept and consumed the lives of others.

Eve closed her eyes, “The only way to save this man's daughter is to release her.” It didn't take her long to find the program that would awaken the girl from her stasis and stop the system entirely. She shut down all of the systems connected to it all as well.

The girl's eyes slowly opened, bright glowing green from the life forces she had consumed in her stasis. Her arms weakly hugged the bear closer to her, almost instinctively. Her voice was dry and raspy as she whispered, “Father?”

Eve shook her head, “No. It is only me.”

The green quickly faded from her eyes and her vital signs faded just as quickly. She stared at Eve for a moment, “Are you… an… angel?”

Eve's eyes widened, “Um.” She had no idea how to respond to that question.

“You're so… pretty…” The vitals reached zero and the screen shut off as the girl's eyes closed for the very last time.

Eve took the girls arms and wrapped them around the bear. It was unnerving to her how still and clammy the girl's body was. And how quickly it was growing cold. She hadn't physically touched a dead human before and she decided then that she wouldn't ever do so again.


	5. Chapter 5

When Eve returned her friends were all recovering from the effects of the illusion. Eve presumed they had figured out what it was, but still reported, “It was a powerful illusion created by a system further in the cave complex.”

“Right,” Elesis nodded. She got to her feet, somewhat unsteadily, “How'd you figure it out?”

“I simply found it odd that they claimed to want to rip open a portal to Henir's Core when they did not resemble anyone we've thus far encountered from the Henir Order. Then when the woman tried to attack me, the way she moved was incredibly odd. She seemed to glitch. When I did not respond to her attack as expected, I was freed from the illusion,” Eve explained.

“Well,” Rena looked over to Add and readied a collection of arrows. Before anyone could freak out, she let them fly.

Everyone watched as the chains broke where Rena's arrows made contact. They ran over to Add as he dropped, rather limply. He landed on his feet but fell to his knees a moment later. He managed to catch himself before he collapsed onto his side with one hand. The other one held his head.

“Add!” Elsword called out to him before they even reached him.

“Get away!” Add screamed without even looking at them.

They all stopped where they were. But they were close enough they could see his whole body shaking. He looked pale, even for him, and there was blood where the chains still held him.

“Add, you're bleeding,” Elesis said. She took a step toward him.

Instantly the hand that had been supporting him shot up and Dynamo fired at Elesis.

Elesis barely managed to dodge the shot before it hit her in the chest.

Chung's eyes widened and he stared at Add, “He… shot at us.”

“It seems he is still broken,” Eve observed calmly

Add was now holding his head with both of his hands. He chuckled quietly but it wasn't normal. It was oddly hollow and cold.

Chung, Aisha, Ara, and Elsword all took a small step away from Add.

“Add,” Rena knelt down where she was. Her voice was gentle, “We have to get those chains off you. You're bleeding and we don't want the wounds to get infected.”

Add's laughing became hysterical. But he remained curled up and kept his face hidden from them.

Rena carefully moved closer to him. At first he didn't seem to notice but once she got too close he pulled away from her, almost literally shoving himself into the wall. So Rena stopped where she was and tried talking to him again, “Add-”

“Pathetic,” Add snarled suddenly.

“Pathetic?” Aisha repeated. She raised an eyebrow in confusion but made no attempt to get any closer to him. His laughter disturbed her.

Add only continued laughing. That stretched on for a couple minutes. His nails dug into his scalp. Soon he managed to draw blood. He spoke again, “I can't believe I was stopped by a bunch of metal! I thought things were different now! It's pathetic!”

“Add,” Elesis didn't try to approach him this time, “Everybody has something like that. Some little thing that seems weird to everybody else that can stop them in their tracks. It's fine.”

Add didn't seem to hear her at all.

Raven studied him carefully for a long moment, “It may be best to let him calm down on his own.”

“We're just going to leave him like this?” Elsword asked in shock, “Sure his laughing freaked me out at first but something's definitely wrong!”

“That's not what I'm saying Elsword,” Raven shook his head and motioned to Add, “He's not even aware that we're here. He hasn't seemed to hear us, or even recognize us this whole time. That means we aren't going to be able to reach him to calm him down until he reaches a certain point of calm himself. Where he's more aware of his surroundings. Our only options at the moment are to let him calm down on his own, or let him pass out. Whichever comes first.”

Elsword looked at Add, even more worried than he had been before.

Eve and Rena had managed to get closer to him but they still weren't close enough to reach him at all. Even if they stretched as far as they could, they wouldn't be able to touch him. He wasn't allowing them to come any closer.

“Add,” Rena said gently, “Can we come closer?”

Add didn't respond. His laughter was momentarily interrupted by a fit of coughing. That only temporarily stopped it and he started laughing again a moment after the coughing stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

_How stupid do I have to be? To believe I'd actually gotten stronger._ “Pathetic,” Add snarled. _How did I let myself think that I was strong enough to save Mother? It's ridiculous. I froze up like a helpless prey animal that knows it's about to die!_ Tears he refused to allow to fall down his cheeks burned his eyes. He didn't even realize he was still laughing anymore. Everything felt wrong, cold and harsh. He was sick to his stomach and he'd been shaking for so long his body was starting to ache.

He dug his fingers deeper into his head, ignoring the sharp sting of pain when his nails drew blood. _Dammit! Why?!_ “I can't believe I was stopped by a bunch of metal! I thought things were different now! It's pathetic!”

_Nothing's changed._ His thoughts suddenly stopped spinning. That single thought echoed in his mind a few times but each time it distorted into a voice that didn't sound like his own. He dragged his nails down his head and clenched his fists against his forehead, “Nothing's changed… Nothing's changed!” _I'm still weak and small. I'm still that little boy that couldn't defend himself against any of it. I'm still that stupid stupid little boy that didn't understand what was going on. That didn't know just how much he was going to lose._ His breath grew ragged and irregular and he finally stopped laughing. _It's pointless. It's all completely pointless. I tried everything I could and I'm still helpless. Still that little boy that was dragged, thrown around, beaten into submission._

Add swayed and fell onto his side. His thoughts continued to spiral even as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness. It wasn't until he was fully passed out that they finally stopped. Then he laid in the emptiness and the nothing and didn't move. After the chaos of his mind it was comfortable to stay there.


	7. Chapter 7

Rena lurched forward and caught Add before he hit the ground. She gently took the chains off of Add with Eve's help. The others gathered around them, all of them worried.

“His breathing is returning to normal,” Eve reported, “It also appears that he passed out only partially because he was hyperventilating.”

“That whole sucking the life out of him thing?” Elesis asked.

Eve nodded, “Yes.”

Chung shuddered, “That was actually kinda terrifying.” He looked around at his friends, worried, “Is Add gonna be okay?”

“He's going to live,” Rena nodded. She silently wrapped up his wounds. It wasn't until she finished that she added, “His mental state is an entirely different question though.”

“We aren't going to know about that until he wakes up. So we'll just wait,” Elesis sounded confident but her eyes showed just how worried she was.

Elsword picked up Dynamo and walked close to the back of the group.

Rena carried Add on her back, since she was taller than Eve. And they weren't sure how he would respond if someone else tried to carry him.

Aisha noticed Elsword in the back, looking at the ground. She fell into step beside him, “Are you alright?”

“I'm worried about Add,” Elsword admitted. He laughed, somewhat nervously, “I know we all are. But…I didn't think there was anything that would stop Add.”

Aisha nodded, “He is crazy enough to leap into pretty much anything. Or, at least, crazy enough that we can logically assume as much.” Aisha looked at Add, “But everybody has a face they show the world to hide the secrets they have. And it seems one of his secrets was that his life wasn't very great.”

Elsword looked at her, “How'd you come to that conclusion?”

Aisha groaned, “Dummy. He completely lost his grip because he was chained up. Anybody who responds that way to chains of all things probably didn't have a good life.”

“Do you think there's a way we can help Add?” Ara asked.

Aisha shrugged. She had no ideas on where to even begin helping Add. He was so difficult most of the time that the idea seemed impossible to her.

Raven answered instead, “Only Add can really tell us that, and it all depends on much help he wants and is comfortable with. Something like that is often very private, and Add hasn't said anything to us yet, so he likely doesn't want to share at all. And if our help is unwanted then it would only serve to push Add further away.”

Rena nodded, “For right now, if and until Add decides to talk to someone about it, all we can do is make sure he knows we're here for him.”

“Add would probably prefer if we treated the same way as always, honestly,” Elesis assumed.

“It is unwise to operate based on assumptions,” Eve stated, “I will ask Add if that is what he prefers when he's ready to answer the question honestly.”

Elesis looked at her, “Are you sure?”

“She is the only one Add ever seems to actually listen to,” Rena shrugged.

Add muttered something. They all watched him carefully but it didn't look like he was waking up. After a moment they continued to the inn they were staying at.

Rena took Add up to his room. It took some maneuvering but she managed to lay him down on his bed without waking him up. She turned to Eve, who had followed her upstairs, “Could you-”

Eve nodded before Rena even got the chance to finish asking.

Rena smiled, “Thanks Eve. I'm sure somebody will come to check in on him pretty often.”

Eve nodded, “I will inform whoever comes to check of any updates.”

Elsword appeared in the doorway, still carrying Add's Dynamo, “Rena? Where should I put these?”

Rena looked around the room. Other than the bed, there was a bedside table and a desk in the main room. There was a set of drawers in the closet. That was the only furniture but there was a window across the room from the door. She thought for a moment before motioning to the desk, “Go ahead and put them there. That way Add will be able to see them when he wakes up.”

Elsword nodded and set Dynamo down. It was in need of repairs but they had seen it beat up worse before. He glanced at Add before he left to go back downstairs.

Rena thanked Eve again, “Come get someone if either of you needs anything.”

Eve nodded, “I will be sure to do so.”

Rena smiled. She closed the door behind her as she left.


End file.
